The Path of Ascension
by starspawn07
Summary: What exactly did the Bringer of Light teach to his fellow Protoss ? Not a story, but still worth reading ... I hope.
1. Chapter 1

If you expected an epic story about how the Protoss empire came to be, I'm sorry. I generally don't have the stamina to write that kind of thing ... yet.

This is simply my interpretation of Khas's ( and his prominent disciples' ) teachings in poem form :)

As always, I don't own Starcraft. ( If I did, I wouldn't take so long to publish Starcraft 2 -,-

**The Unity:**

The True Connection cannot be seen, nor described, yet it is everywhere on this world.

The_ lu'ngui_ lives in water, but is not aware of what water is.

The _kakas_ that flies through the air does not stop to ponder how it does this.

Yet the air supports all flying creatures, just as water sustains all aquatic beings, and the Link is open to all life.

So it is open to all people, but people only value what they can see and touch, and therein lies the origin of Strife.

They want what belongs to others, and they steal.

They want to be rid of rivals, so they kill.

They want land, so they invade.

The wails of indignance they do not hear, but their own complaints are loud and clear.

The pleas of the wounded they do not heed, but they are frantic when they themselves bleed.

The plight of the homeless they do not see, except when they themselves are forced to flee.

My brethren, what difference does the appeareance of your scales make ?

In the end, our skins are bound to the same fate.

Crumpled by time until the Flames of Death consumes them,

Who will you fight and kill then ?

When your Pulse is released and scattered by the wind,

Will any tribe take you in ?

I tell you then, my brethren, only the One Tribe will !

For he who embraces the Unity shall live on still !

The Link is your only eternal home, from when you were conceived to when you set your tomb,

And then your Pulse shall join in the Link with others,

Regardless of your eye or stripe colours !

And then you shall see through new eyes,

And be called to inhabit different hides !

For we are One Tribe !

Thus spoke the Bringer of Light

**Acceptance:**

Those who cease to exert their will shall know peace. Those who know peace shall know the Link.

Verily, the Link is open to all, since long before the Fall.

And it shall be reopened, to all those who have maintained enough Silence,

To hear the call of the Crystals, and thus reclaim our lost Jewels.

My brethren, excessive greed leads to selfishness, selfishness to hatred and anger, and all these to madness.

Anger is the barrier to Silence,

Hatred is the barrier to acceptance,

And Madness deprives you of all sense.

Therefore, my brethren, as you stand at this very Gate,

Forget what demands you have up to this date, for otherwise your hunger shall never abate.

He who is unwilling to give, will not ever receive,

But he who steps back will see a wider Sky and Earth,

And he who stops pursuing depts is entitled to all wealth !

Look through this Crystal, and remember ! All that the Ancient Ones had given us !

Those precious gifts we took for granted, and still more we wanted,

And then the Ancient Ones saw that, and left our Realm,

And thereafter we had no one to ask from.

Therefore do not treat as enemy anyone who has refused you,

For only the truly just can decide what is due.

Do not move to strike down those who are different,

For then they are forced to approach you with the same intent.

See now, my brethren, the pointlessness of your previous passions !

There is no conflict ! No reason for your tensions ! Free of your misconceptions !

Hear now, as you listen to my sayings, you are no longer bothered by the call to petty wars,

As you have had to put up with over and over before !

Feel now, as it reaches out to you, the message of our ancestors,

Just as you have felt the Pulse of your mothers, and fathers, and brothers and sisters !

For we are One Tribe !

Thus spoke the Bringer of Light

**Truth**

I have implored you to follow only Reason, for I shall entrust to you a divine Mission.

You shall go to all the places which have been settled,

By the people of the HomeWorld.

Tell them the truth that you have now been told.

And then you shall uphold that truth, as your successors shall do in time to come,

Judges, law-givers, scholars, investigators, and administrators you shall become.

Do not falter in uncovering the truth, for Truth is the root of order,

As it is the only standard that shall endure forever.

He who promotes false doctrine, and is purposedly dishonest to his fellow People,

Cannot hide his offenses from your judicial powers.

Therefore, I say to you again, do not inflict violence on those who refuse you,

But through the Link, get them to understand your view.

Be silent, and listen to their motives. Be quiet, and grasp their objectives.

Only when you are thus aligned, can you decide what is right.

And when each one's lot has been assigned, keep them in your sight.

For their survival, let your People learn how to fight, but watch out for those who do not restrain their might.

When it appears that they shall cause great harm, through your authority you shall bring them back to calm.

And if you are not involved in governance,

There are still duties of great importance.

Here and there in your journeys you will find,

Great knowledge and relics that our ancient Forebears have left behind.

These you shall unearth and observe,

And take great care to chart and preserve.

For the betterment of the People, you shall always seek to optimise,

What science, technology and philosophy has been devised.

Make use of any talents and tools you discover, to help you explore even places you cannot enter.

Even knowledge which has not yet been approved, must still be recorded and improved,

For the Truth cannot be 'removed'.

Thus spoke the Bringer of Light to the first Judicators.

…

I have more planned, but no promises :P

Any suggestions are higly appreciated :)

Till next time,

Have a good day/night ;)

-star


	2. Chapter 2

I keep thinking, did the Protoss ever produce something like the Art of War ? hmm ...

and yes, I'm a very temperamental writer, so this chapter may not be as moving as the last XP

anyways, thanks to Turuski for the thoughtful review.

…

**The Protectors**

Now some of you ask me:

We have trained for war all our lives !

What use are warriors, now that the world is no longer at war ?

Firstly I say: you must go beyond this narrow definition of world !

There are always threats to the People's survival.

The moment you start to feel that nothing can harm you, then you are already on the road to ruin.

Those of you who are brave enough to have ventured beyond your continents, and then your world,

Know that the Universe is always far bigger than you can imagine.

You have encountered beasts with the strength of 9 _Oxodons_, and the ferocity of 2 _Shilas_,

Communities of beings who have tools and garments just like you did,

Warring with each other as you have also done up till now.

And then there are those who refuse to submit and rejoin the Link.

In my travels I have encountered all those, and many many more.

So even in this New Era you must stay ready, and organized,

In order to protect your brethren,

Who now include all the People, regardless of lineage or faction.

Secondly I say: you must go beyond this narrow definition of Warrior.

There is much more you can do with your skills, than finding and killing those who are not of the People.

You have the experience of surviving in hostile, unfamiliar territory.

Use that in the exploration of unknown realms.

Exceptional bravery is the willingness to face the unknown.

You have the experience of guarding important sites.

Use that to protect your homes and families from various disasters.

Be clear about your priorities so that in an emergency you do not panic.

You have the experience of capturing the enemy alive.

Use that to bring the Unlawful ones to justice !

The greatest skill in combat is to subdue an opponent with minimal effort and injury to either side!

Remember, killing others to take what is not rightfully yours, is the most dishonorable use of your warrior skills.

The only meaningful battle, is a battle for survival, and to protect those you hold dear.

When you are fighting for that noble goal, do not fear death !

For you are always in the Link.

In the Link, you are immortal.

When you are one with the Essence of the People, you are One with the People,

Your power is not bounded by the one body that your consciousness inhabits.

When you go to battle, you shall have swords and shields of pure smokeless flame !

The storms shall heed your call, and freeze and strike your enemies at your command !

The enemy shall not see your movements, but you can always divine theirs !

And even when your body has fallen, the enemy shall not claim you !

For at the End of the Path, there opens another Way, and you are Restored to the People again !

Thus, you have little need to fear death.

However, you must keep to the following three principles, failing which, the Link will not save you.

First, you must never wage a war of aggression against anyone, be they from your Tribe or others, from the People, or other communities.

There must be no unnecessary killing.

If you need something, you have to ask. Do not just reach and take. That is a basic ethic between one of the People to another.

Thus it is between on People and another.

Secondly, you must respect the rights and opinions of those who are not of your profession.

They may have little experience in fighting, but just as they depend on your skills to keep them safe, so do you depend on them for other things.

You must especially respect the Upholders of Truth.

They have studied with me longer than you have.

They understand the nature of the Link, of our world, and the Secrets of the Ancients much more than you do. Take their advice seriously.

Do not doubt their sincerity, for they have sworn to uphold the Truth and made it their mission to preserve the wisdom that has come down to us from our forebears.

Thirdly, do not create and execute your own Law in place of that made by Consensus.

What you perceive as righteous now, may have disastrous consequences later.

Before interfering in any matter that has little to do with the People's immediate survival, you must consult the Authority.

Follow these principles, and you shall be the greatest Warriors the Universe has known,

even if you are not the strongest, nor the fastest.

Now kneel, you Warriors of all Tribes,

and arise Protectors of the People !

Thus spoke Khas to the first Templars.

**Progress**

The Era of Strife has ended, a new Order arises.

It now falls upon you, my brethren to rebuild, and to maintain.

Verily, this is a pivotal moment in our history.

The prospect of developing and using new skills and tools fills you with excitement.

However, we must learn from the mistakes made by our predecessors,

Or else Strife will recur, and the new Order will not materialize.

Those mistakes can be easily identified, and I hereby illuminate for you the four steps to Advancement.

Firstly, you must stop all unnecessary expenditure.

All your previous religious activities must stop !

The truly Pious do not need temples nor ceremonies to fulfill their spiritual needs.

You have the Link now, you need little else.

Follow the Path, and you will find the Attainment that your rituals and idols could never offer you.

In your art you must also consider function.

All art has some function. You must find it, and apply it well.

If you cannot convince yourself that an endeavour is useful to someone, then apply the resources for something else !

Secondly, you must spread the use of Writing, and the Common Thought Forms.

Verily, the Era of Strife persisted for so long, because the Tribes could not understand each other.

When one of the Akilae expressed a matter, one of the Sargas thought he meant something else.

They fail to understand.

One fears what one does not understand. And fear leads easily to hatred.

That must not happen again.

A man from Scion must not only be able to talk and laugh with another man from Scion, he must also be able to talk and laugh with a man from the GreenWoods.

All the People must be able to share their knowledge and skills with each other.

Only then can the People truly cooperate, and improve.

Thirdly, you must remove all the old restrictions, which were largely based on superstition.

You must choose your mates based not on parentage, or class, but on careful consideration for your future, and your Acceptance of him or her.

You mark off certain places, not because they belong to certain Deities, but because they are hazardous to enter.

You wear certain garments not because they appear impressive, but because they are conducive to your work.

So on and so forth.

Listen to the judgement of the Judicators. Learn of their Reasonable methods.

Finally, you must never stop exploring and trying out new things.

When you believe that you have created everything that needs to be created, then you are on the path to decline.

Repetition may lead to perfection, but it can also dull your responsiveness.

True perfection does not exist, but innovation is a visible and vital element.

Therefore, I say: immerse yourselves in your crafts, but do not drown yourselves in them.

Do not fear to task the Warriors with challenging requests, so long as you treat them with respect,

and take their feedback seriously.

And you yourselves must not slacken off.

Through the Link, you know, what must be done,

and what must not be overdone !

So to Work now, my brethren, Rebuild !

Thus spoke Khas to the assembled Khalai

…

That's all for now :)

I'll add on later if I think of something.

( I doubt anyone reads these kinds of crap … but you can prove me wrong by posting a review :)

Have a nice day/night ^,^

-Star


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